WaterMatters Magazine Archive

  Basin Board: Alafia River Basin Board Term: March 5, 2002 to March 1, 2008 Occupation: Real estate broker Town of Residence: Brandon Hometown:…

Hundreds of volunteers trudged through the mud to get to hard-to-reach places that needed planting.               This September approximately 400 volunteers…

Maritza Rovira-Forino, Governing Board member, assists visitors at the District’s display. The District celebrated the Hillsborough River and the Hillsborough River watershed by holding a series of events…

Several members of the District’s Basin Boards and District staff were able to get a closer look at some innovative, water-conserving farming techniques when they visited two area commercial nurseries. The…

Top: Silage cutters harvest native grass seeds from the Green Swamp to be used at the Conner Preserve. Bottom: Portions of the Green Swamp and Conner Preserve are both located in Pasco County and have similar…

Eugene Schiller, the District’s deputy executive director of the Division of Management Services, has been selected to serve a two-year term on the Department of the Interior’s National Geospatial Advisory…

Kurt Durham’s brother-in-law may have brought him to the District, but the familylike atmosphere at the District’s Sarasota Service Office keeps him here. In 1987, Jack MacDonald, who used to work in…

David Moore, executive director, reads the plaque honoring John Parker as his family looks on. A canoe launch at the Springs Coast Environmental Education Center on the Weeki Wachee River bears the name and…

Representatives from the District and Tampa Bay Water celebrate the beginning of full operations at the Tampa Bay Water desalination plant. Susan Latvala, Pinellas County commissioner and Tampa Bay Water chair…

Audubon of Florida honored a District employee this fall for his role in saving the land that makes Florida a special place to live, work, visit and explore. Henry Dean, Audubon board member and former…

Known for being a role model and a leader at the District, Roberta Starks has now received recognition from Hillsborough Community College (HCC). Starks was recognized at the college’s alumni award ceremony…

Alafia River Basin Board Member Cheryl Johnson was also recognized as being one of Hillsborough Community College’s 40 remarkable alumni. “When I attended HCC, nearly 25 years ago, I would have never dreamed…

The Finance Department is welcoming the return of Alan Lynch, senior budget analyst, after seven years of military leave. Lynch, who began working for the District in March 1994, went on military leave July…

From left to right: Shannon Staub, Sarasota County commissioner; Judy Whitehead, Governing Board chair; Heidi McCree, Governing Board member; Maritza Rovira-Forino, Governing Board member; Dora Thomas,…

Jason DiBattista, District tradesworker, inspects the sprinkler heads at the District each month, cleaning in and around them. The District’s rain sensor device overrides the irrigation timer if there has been…

Allen Yarbrough, graphics illustrator, and Melissa Roe, senior communications coordinator, accepting the award. A District communications project was recognized at the annual Florida Government Communicators…

Various views of the Tampa Bypass/Harney Park site, as well as Marilyn Samaha accepting the District’s first Land Resources Volunteer of the Year Award from Fritz Musselmann, land resources director. The…

Employee committee members Audra Owens-Powell, senior human resources specialist; Yassert Gonzalez, economist; Tammy Antoine, water conservation analyst; Chan Springstead, planner; Cindy Ortiz, senior…

As the drought continues to make front-page news across the country, the District is taking steps to stretch our limited water supply and raise public awareness about what people can do to help. The…

Basin Board: Manasota Basin Board Term: First appointed March 26, 2001. Currently in her third term, which expires March 1, 2010 Occupation: Land Planner Current residence: Manatee County…

District staffers and Board members who participated in the Hillsborough River & Waterways Cleanup spent their Saturday cleaning up the shoreline at DeSoto Park on McKay Bay. More than a dozen District…

The North American Lake Management Society (NALMS) recently awarded the Southwest Florida and St. Johns River water management districts with the Technical Merit Award in the area of research for their work…

Ronald Oakley was appointed to the Governing Board to succeed Jerry Rice Florida native and citrus grower Ronald E. Oakley took his oath of office during the July…

Clark Hull, the District’s environmental resource permitting program director, was asked to join the Stormwater Management Academy’s board of directors. Clark Hull, the District’s environmental resource…

Abnormally dry conditions and the lightning that accompanies summer rains have combined to keep the District’s Land Management staff extremely busy this wildfire season, which typically runs from April…